


Reaching An Understanding

by WhatTheWentz



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Bisexual Kol Mikaelson, Developing Friendships, Grief/Mourning, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Kol Lowkey Ships JoshEddie tho, Kol Needs A Hug, M/M, Making Out, Mentions of Josh/Aiden and Kol/Davina, Some S4 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 09:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10434162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatTheWentz/pseuds/WhatTheWentz
Summary: When Kol turns up at Josh's bar, he offers the Original some advice





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Slashaddict96](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slashaddict96/gifts).



> This season is AMAZING  
> but if they won't give me a proper Kol/Josh friendship, I'll write it myself

Josh  _ hated  _ distractions.

 

To be quite frank, they were the one thing that pissed him off more than anything about his city.  The busy atmosphere could quite often get irritating, especially in the times he wanted to be alone, or with his boyfriend.

 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t a people person, that he most certainly was, but sometimes, it got a bit too much.

  
So he had decided to close Rousseau’s for a day to spend some time with his boyfriend, painfully aware of how short their time together could be.  They had agreed to no distractions, no customers, just them together.

 

Josh wasn’t sure of how it had all led to them making out against the bar, but it wasn’t exactly like he was complaining.  Part of him felt guilty, like he was shaming Cami and Davina for making out in the bar where they had frequented, but another, more primal instinct compelled him to continue.

 

Eddie pulled away for breath, laughing, “Making out in a bar.  I knew you were adventurous but--”

 

Josh cut him off by smashing their mouths together, both melting into each other once more.  He felt a bit more guilty of the fact that he had moved on from Aiden at all, never mind in only a couple of years, but he tried not to think about it and just relax and enjoy the moment, the feeling of security and warmth once more.

 

All of a sudden, there was a loud  _ whoosh  _ and  _ crack,  _ and the door came flying open, revealing a slightly irritated looking Kol, who then crossed his arms.

  
Eddie pulled away, confused, “I thought you locked the door?”

 

“I, um…” Josh slipped further away from his boyfriend, mumbling a barely audible excuse, then saying, “This is probably important, can we reschedule?”

 

The human arched an eyebrow,  _ “‘Reschedule’? _ What am I, your secretary?”

 

“No!” Josh replied, a bit too eagerly, “That’s not what I--”   
  


Eddie held up his hands, “Calm down, Josh.  I’m only kidding.”

  
“Yeah, can we hurry up this show of affection?” Kol asked, tapping his foot in impatience.

 

Eddie rolled his eyes, “Dude.  Chill.  I’m leaving.” he leaned over and kissed Josh’s cheek, a rather intimate gesture, before grabbing his coat and leaving, shooting Kol an irritated look before exiting the bar, slightly confused by the apparently broken state of the door handle.

 

When he was gone, Kol hissed, “He did  _ not  _ just call me ‘dude’, did he?  God, I hate millennials.”   
  


“Technically he’s not a--” at Kol’s look of disdain, he instantly broke off, “Okay, I see you don’t want me to be a human dictionary.  Anyway, shouldn’t you be leaving the city?  Marcel practically booted you and your family out, and you  _ wanted  _ to leave.”

 

Kol shrugged, then sat down at the bar, “Yeah, well.  Living with my family isn’t exactly the most fun I’ve ever had.”

 

“Tell me about it.” Josh said, going behind the bar.  Kol gave a pointed look, and he elaborated, “I’ve gotta get my bartender cred somewhere.  Bourbon?”

 

Kol nodded, then continued his story, “Basically, my family are caring more about this bloody kid than I am.  I mean, I’m not trying to be selfish, but I’m grieving and all they care about is her.  I love her, I really do, but it’s hard not to feel…”

 

“Jilted?” Josh suggested, pouring both Kol and himself a glass of bourbon before continuing, “Look, man.  Of course they’re going to fawn over the kid.  Kids are adorable, if not a little bit terrifying.” Kol puffed a laugh at that, which made Josh relax slightly, “It doesn’t mean they’re not concerned over you, or that they don’t care.  Of course they care.  But they’re waiting on  _ you  _ reaching out to them.”

 

Kol took a swig of his bourbon and remarked, “You know, if I had known you were this philosophical, I wouldn’t have snapped your neck.  Or broken your phone.”   
  


“Did you really have to break it?  That cost me, like, two hundred dollars!  I mean, I replaced it already, but that’s not the point!” Josh grumbled.

 

Kol shrugged, “Couldn’t risk Marcel tracking it if he feels trigger happy, and I certainly didn’t feel like giving it back to you.”

 

“Has anyone told you that you’re a complete ass?” Josh narrowed his eyes.

 

Kol replied, “Only my entire family, several thousand people and all my past lovers, regardless of gender.”   
  


“‘Regardless’?” Josh arched an eyebrow.

 

Kol explained, “I’m bisexual.” Josh looked confused, “What?  My family are a thousand years old, you can hardly expect us all to be heterosexual.”

 

“No, I think it’s great, explains a lot.” Josh admitted, “Did  _ she  _ know?”

 

Josh didn’t even have to say her name for Kol to feel a familiar twinge of pain in his heart.  He looked down, trying to will the sadness away, not wanting to let Josh, of all people, see him at a vulnerable moment.

 

“I am sorry, man.” Josh said, his voice softening, “I know that you… well, you loved her.”   
  


Kol stiffened, “I don’t want to talk about this.  Especially not with  _ you.” _

 

“That’s fair.” Josh backed away, frightened that the unstable vampire would break his neck once more, or even worse, “I’m just saying, you need to talk it out with someone.”   
  


Kol’s eyes filled with rage, “I think  _ I’m  _ the only one able to dictate what I need, Joshua.”

 

“I’m not sure about that.” the younger vampire said, and before Kol could react violently, he continued, “You’ve never really cared before her, have you?  She was the first person who made you feel human.  Made you feel like more than a monster.”   
  


Kol spat, “Yes, and I  _ killed  _ her.  I’d watch your words, Joshua.  You are treading on thin ice here.”   
  


“I know I am, and believe me, the last thing I want is to be murdered by  _ another  _ Mikaelson sibling.” he sipped at his drink, “The thing is, you weren’t the only one who loved Davina.  You’re not the only one going through this.  Maybe what you need is a friend.”   
  


Kol laughed bitterly, “And that person is you, huh?  What, are we going to sit and watch romantic comedies whilst you braid my hair next?  I don’t do friends, Joshua.  I don’t do love.  I do revenge.”   
  


“And you can’t get revenge, can you?” the other asked, “Davina’s killer, the ancestors, they’re already dead, and killing yourself would be pointless.  You don’t want to kill your siblings.  So there’s literally nobody you can blame.”   
  


Kol looked down, “So, what?  You just expect me to tell you my feelings?  To cry it out?  I’m not going to do that.”

 

“I grieved Aiden alone.” Josh explained, “It was the worst time of my life, including that one time where I  _ actually  _ died and when your brother bit me, or that time he turned me into his slave.  Wow, a lot of crappy moments from my life are linked to your brother.”

 

Kol groaned, “Your point?”

 

“Oh.” Josh remembered, “Yeah.  Those months, years where I was dealing with that pain alone?  I wanted to die every single one of them.  But I had Davina, she’d call me every day, even when she was shunned and was alone.  She’d call me, or even text me every day until I found it getting easier.  And the thing is, she had just lost you.  She had watched you die and yet she was still concerned about little old me.”

 

Kol couldn’t help but smile at that, “That’s my girl.  Always compassionate.” his facade cracked, and his eyes filled with sadness once more, “At least, she was.”   
  


“She loved you, you know?” Josh stated, “More than life itself.”

 

Kol scoffed, “How ironic is it then that I was the one to kill her?”

 

“Look, I’m gonna tell you something that probably nobody has told you.” Josh began, “It wasn’t your fault.  Davina’s death.  The ancestors messed you up, and made you do something horrible, but it wasn’t you, okay?”

 

Kol seemed slightly taken aback by that, his eyes shining with unshed tears as he whispered, “Thank you.”

 

“That’s… what I’m here for.” Josh said, pouring himself another bourbon, “That and being constantly disturbed.”   
  


Kol groaned, “I’m such a wanker.  Look, Josh?”

 

“Yeah?” Josh asked, feeling even more relaxed now that Kol wasn’t addressing him by his full name, like the rest of his siblings did.

 

Kol spoke with a mixture of sadness and hope in his voice, “Don’t let this one go, okay?  Fight for him.  Spend all the time you can with him.”   
  


“Is this beer a bit too strong for you?  Because you sure sound drunk right now.” Josh laughed awkwardly.

 

Kol chuckled, “I’m serious.  What happened to Aiden was tragic, and I wouldn’t wish you to go through it again.”   
  


“I don’t want that either.” Josh stated, “So, are we friends?”

 

Kol pulled back, tilting his head, “Eh.  Acquaintances at the most.  As I said, I don’t do friends.”

 

“Okay.” Josh smiled, nodding, “Understood.  But I’d still go and talk to one of your siblings if I were you.”   
  


Kol nodded, “I will.  You talk to that  _ really attractive  _ boyfriend of yours, okay?”

 

He got to his feet, then promptly sped out of the bar, leaving Josh on his own, swimming in his own thoughts.  He turned to the photograph of Davina, a swell of sadness filling his heart as he thought about how much he missed his best friend.

 

“This one’s for you, D.” he said, then chugged the rest of his glass.

 

He got out his new mobile phone and began to text Eddie:

 

_ Business is finished.  Meet @ my apartment? _

 

A couple of minutes later, Eddie replied:

 

_ This time, no distractions… right? ;) _

 

Josh smiled at the message, then answered:

 

_ I promise;) _

  
  


***

 

Kol arrived back at the farmhouse just after midnight, having spent at least an hour trying to figure out what to say.

 

When he walked into the house, he saw that most of his family were watching the television, Hope was presumably sleeping, and Klaus was in the kitchen, making himself some sandwiches.

 

It baffled Kol; they were vampires, they didn’t need to eat, and yet, here Nik was, piling up PB&J on the bread as if his life depended on it.  Then again, after five years of torture, Klaus was expected to have began to act weird.

 

He stepped into the kitchen, then cleared his throat, leading to Klaus juggling for the knife.  When he caught it, he rested it on the kitchen counter and turned to Kol.

 

“Brother!  You’re home.” he smiled, as if all of the bad blood between them didn’t exist, and for a second, Kol pretended it didn’t too.  Klaus noticed the sadness growing on Kol’s expression and stepped forward, resting a hand on his shoulder, “Kol?  What’s wrong?”

 

Kol couldn’t help himself anymore; he broke.  The sobs came sharp, painful and fast, and he felt as if the room was spinning around him, and part of him expected Klaus to push him away and laugh in disgust, but instead, he found himself brought closer, pulled into a tight embrace.

 

Klaus’ fingers soothingly ran through his hair as he wept out his grief into his older brother’s shoulder, and he could hear the supposed fearsome hybrid cooing softly, “I’ve got you.  It’s okay, I’m here.”

 

It confused him as he expected his pain to be a mundane thing to Klaus, but apparently, the elder did hold some kind of concern to him, which made him feel so much better.

 

When Kol had the strength to pull away, he wiped away the tears that were on his face and attempted to explain himself, “Nik, I--”   
  


“I understand, brother.” Klaus took his hands, “You loved her, didn’t you?”

 

Those words almost brought Kol crashing down again, but he regained his posture and instead nodded.

 

“She loved you too.” Klaus said, making Kol think of Josh’s earlier words, “I may not have liked her, but she made you happy.  I would do anything to spare you from this agony, I hope you do know that, brother.  Instead, we’ve just made enemies of Marcellus.  Our stupidity, our cruelty, our mistakes.”

 

Kol said, “Marcellus is in pain.  I understand that.”   
  


“It’s my fault.” Klaus sighed.

 

Kol shook his head, “It isn’t.  Davina died, and it hurts, but we can’t just sit around doing nothing.  What matters is protecting that kid upstairs.  Your kid, my niece.”   
  
“So you aren’t jealous?” Klaus arched an eyebrow, teasingly.

 

Kol rolled his eyes, “Oh, please.  I’m not jealous of a little kid.  I’m Kol Mikaelson, not a moody teenager.  Now, what do we do next?”

 

“We protect Hope.” Klaus said, “At all costs.”   
  


Kol smirked, “Got it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comment/Kudos etc.  
> Also, expect more fics in the future because TO always gets me in the mood to write.


End file.
